Cruise ship 'owned by Church of Scientology' and carrying nearly 300 people is quarantined in St. Lucia after health officials confirm a female crew member has measles

A cruise ship had to be quarantined in St Lucia's port after a case of measles was confirmed on board.

Health officials docked the cruise ship, which was carrying 300 passengers, on Monday after discovering a female crew member had contracted the disease.

According to NBC, officials declined to name the ship, but Sgt Victor Theodore from St Lucia's Coast Guard said it was called the 'Freewinds' - the same name as a 440-foot ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology.

Sgt Theodore also identified the quarantined vessel as the same one which was listed on the church's website.

+3

Health officials docked the 'Freewinds' cruise ship on Monday after a discovering a female crew member had the measles. The ship (stock image, not the ship in quarantine) is still in quarantine in St Lucia's port, officials said Wednesday

The Church of Scientology website describes the Freewinds as a floating 'religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion'. It says its home port is Curacao.

MailOnline has contacted the Church of Scientology for comment.

The island's Chief Medical Officer Merlene Fredericks-James told CNBC that the ship is still docked at the port and the crew member is in isolation on board.

Other crew members and passengers are not allowed to disembark.

St Lucian officials have been working with the Pan American Health Organization and Caribbean Public Health Agency.

Fredericks-James said that it is 'likely that other persons on the boat may have been exposed', but no other cases have been confirmed.

The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death. It is currently spreading in outbreaks in many parts of the world.

According to the World Health Organization, 95 percent of a population needs to be vaccinated to provide 'herd immunity,' a form of indirect protection that prevents infection in people too young or sick to be vaccinated.

+3

Other crew members and passengers are not allowed to disembark. St Lucian officials have been working with the Pan American Health Organization and Caribbean Public Health Agency. Pictured is the St Lucia Caribbean port

US public health officials have blamed the current outbreak in part on rising rates of vaccine skepticism that have reduced measles immunity in certain communities.

For travelers to outbreak areas abroad, the CDC recommends adults consider getting another dose of MMR unless they have proof of receiving two prior doses, take a blood test showing immunity, or were born before 1957.

In general, the CDC says two doses of the measles vaccine should provide 97 percent protection; one dose should offer 93 per cent protection. However, immunity can wane over time.

This has occurred even in adults with two documented doses of the vaccine, said Dr. Michael Phillips, chief epidemiologist at NYU Langone Health, which serves parts of New York City, a hot spot in the current US outbreak.

He said in kids, 'the vaccine is really effective,' but in some adults, memory T-cells, which recognize and attack germs, do not fight the virus as effectively as they once did.

Rapid blood tests are available that can detect whether a person is immune based on the level of measles antibodies, but the tests are not 100 per cent reliable.

+3

The measles virus is highly contagious and can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage or death. It is currently spreading in outbreaks in many parts of the world

Measles outbreak hits record high since elimination in 2000

Loaded: 0%

Progress: 0%

0:00

Previous

Play

Skip

Mute

Current Time0:00

/

Duration Time1:20

Fullscreen

Adults who have any doubt about their immunity should get another dose, Schaffner said: 'It's safe. There's no downside risk. Just roll up your sleeve.'

Measles continues to spread across the United States, with more than 700 cases reported so far this year in 22 states.

US health officials on Monday updated the national tally. It has already eclipsed the total for any full year since 1994, when 963 cases were reported.

The CDC says this year's count includes 44 people who caught the disease while traveling in another country.

Some of them triggered US outbreaks, mostly among non-vaccinated people.

That includes the largest outbreaks, in Orthodox Jewish communities in and around New York City.

Three-quarters of those who caught the disease are children or teenagers.

Cruise ship 'owned by Church of Scientology' and carrying nearly 300 people is quarantined in St. Lucia after health officials confirm a female crew member has measles
Reviewed by Your Destination
on
May 02, 2019
Rating: 5